Adversity about food on return flights 'unfounded': Air India

NEW DELHI: Days after Air India announced that it had started
carrying food from India for use during the journey back to the
country, it clarified on Saturday that any misgiving about the
in-flight food is "unfounded" as it stayed fresh in chillers
onboard.

In a statement issued on Twitter, Air India said it "ensures strict
compliance to quality checks at every step of its in-flight
catering right from its flight kitchen".

"Any misgiving about served food is unfounded as food stays fresh
in chillers onboard and served piping hot to ensure authentic taste
all over our network," it said to allay passengers' concerns
regarding food quality in return flights.

The loss-making airline has already started using food items
stocked from India during its onward journey to Stockholm,
Copenhagen, Birmingham and Madrid, and use them when
returning.

"We are following this practice on our flights up to Europe and not
on our longer duration flights to USA," the airline said.

"Return Catering, done by leading flight kitchens adheres to laid
down standards and protocols regarding quality of food. Food
uplifted at the country of origin is industry practice favoured by
pax (passengers) for its taste, quality and reliability," it
said.

Air India's chairman and managing director Pradeep Singh Kharola
had on Wednesday announced in New Delhi that the airline has
started carrying food from India for use during the journey back to
the country, in an attempt to rationalise catering costs on
international flights.

"The food is taken from here in India in chillers and then it is
heated whenever it has to be used...Catering costs for us are
around Rs 600 crore to Rs 800 crore a year. Catering in India is
3-4 times cheaper as compared to catering in the West," he
said.

Within the next a few months, Air India will start serving food
from India on its flights returning from the Gulf region, he
added.

As a cost-cutting measure, Air India decided in July 2017 to not
serve non-vegetarian food to economy class passengers on its
domestic flights.

"There are some flights, like the ones going to Gulf, Singapore and
even some parts of Europe, where it is possible to upload the food
here (in India) only. Some work is going on in that direction,"
Kharola had said.